Frankenstein"I saw the pale student of unhallowed arts kneeling beside the thing he had put together. I saw the hideous phantasm of a man stretched out, and then, on the working of some powerful engine, show signs of life and stir with an uneasy, half-vital motion." A summer evening's ghost stories, lonely insomnia in a moonlit Alpine's room, and a runaway imagination--fired by philosophical discussions with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley about science, galvanism, and the origins of life--conspired to produce for Marry Shelley this haunting night specter. By morning, it had become the germ of her Romantic masterpiece, "Frankenstein." Written in 1816 when she was only nineteen, Mary Shelley's novel of "The Modern Prometheus" chillingly dramatized the dangerous potential of life begotten upon a laboratory table. A frightening creation myth for our own time, "Frankenstein" remains one of the greatest horror stories ever written and is an undisputed classic of its kind. |
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Page 39
... introduction , and paid a visit to some of the principal professors . Chance - or rather the evil influence , the Angel of Destruction , which asserted omnipotent sway over me from the moment I turned my reluctant steps from my father's ...
... introduction , and paid a visit to some of the principal professors . Chance - or rather the evil influence , the Angel of Destruction , which asserted omnipotent sway over me from the moment I turned my reluctant steps from my father's ...
Page 222
... cabin - window , as he said this , upon the ice - raft which lay close to the vessel . He was soon borne away by the waves , and lost in darkness and distance . APPENDIX I INTRODUCTION TO THE EDITION OF 1831 The Publishers 222.
... cabin - window , as he said this , upon the ice - raft which lay close to the vessel . He was soon borne away by the waves , and lost in darkness and distance . APPENDIX I INTRODUCTION TO THE EDITION OF 1831 The Publishers 222.
Page 242
... behind Frankenstein . p . 231 my story : though the preface to the original edition of 1818 was written in the first person , it was in fact the work of Percy , not Mary Shelley , as she pointed out in her 1831 introduction . 242.
... behind Frankenstein . p . 231 my story : though the preface to the original edition of 1818 was written in the first person , it was in fact the work of Percy , not Mary Shelley , as she pointed out in her 1831 introduction . 242.
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Common terms and phrases
affection Agatha agony Albertus Magnus anguish appeared arrived beautiful became beheld beloved bestow Clerval companion consolation cottage countenance cousin creature crime dæmon dared dark dear death delight desire despair destroyed discovered dream earth Elizabeth endeavoured endured entered expressed eyes father fear feelings Felix felt Frankenstein Geneva gentle grief hands happiness heard heart heavens hope horror human idea imagination Ingolstadt innocent John Polidori journey Justine kind Krempe labours lake lived looked Lord Byron manner marriage Mary Shelley Mary Wollstonecraft mind miserable misfortune monster Mont Blanc morning mountains murderer natural philosophy nature never night Pandæmonium Paracelsus Paradise Lost passed passion peace perceived Percy Shelley pleasure poor possessed reflect remained resolved revenge Safie scene sensations smiles sometimes soon sorrow soul spirit strange suffered Switzerland tale tears thought university of Ingolstadt Victor voice wind wish wonder wood words wretched